United States Drug Enforcement Administration

FRESNO, Calif. —Albert Dominguez Jr., 52, of Ceres, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon announced.

According to court documents, Dominguez conspired with Leonor Sarabia-Ramirez, 52, of Modesto, to distribute and did, in fact distribute, 5 pounds of methamphetamine to Joseph Phillip Mar, 54, of Ceres, at a residence in Ceres. Sarabia previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Mar is scheduled for a jury trial on Nov. 29, 2022.

Dominguez is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Dale A. Drozd on Aug. 29, 2022. Dominguez faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, the Multi-Jurisdictional Methamphetamine Enforcement Team (Cal-MMET), and the Stanislaus Drug Enforcement Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.